Background: The current study was undertaken to investigate the results of a modification in the conventional Maze III Procedure devised by the authors. The aim of the technical modification was in improving the left atrial contractility. Material and Method: Between July 1997 and December 1998, 34 patients with chronic atrial fibrillation for more than 1 year duration underwent a modified Maze III procedure. The assessment of the left atrial function was made by various echocardiographic measurements and SA nodal recovery was evaluated by HRV Holter monitoring. Result: All 34 patients were in sinus rhythm. On echocardiography, right atrial contraction was detected in 32 patients(94.1%) and left atrial contraction in 33 patients(97.1%). The echocardiographic A wave at 1, 6, and 12 months or more were 50.5$pm$31.5, 62.1$pm$25.1, 66$pm$20.6 cm/sec, respectively, and the E wave measurements at the same time points were 152$pm$31.1, 134.4$pm$35.2, 133$pm$27.5 cm/sec. The corresponding A/E ratios were 0.32$pm$0.13, 0.48$pm$0.18, 0.5$pm$0.15, showing a rising trend. Treadmill evaluation at 6 months showed a mean 82% increase in heart rate after excising, and the SDNN and SDANN upon HRV Holter at 1 and 3 months postoperatively were 65.3$pm$28.1/87.8$pm$27.2 ms, and 60.0$pm$24.1/83.4$pm$25.7 ms, respectively, showing a predoinant autonomic recovery in the parasympathetic system(PSDNN = 0.01, PSDANN =0.015). Conclusion: The results of our data suggest that the current modification in the conventional Maze III Procedure was efective in enhancing the postoperative left atrial contractility.